Darwin's first evolutionary "tree of life", from around 1837
…from the war of nature, from famine and death, the most exalted object which we are capable of conceiving, namely, the production of the higher animals, directly follows. There is grandeur in this view of life, with its several powers, having been originally breathed into a few forms or into one; and that, whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being, evolved.
November 24, 1859: Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species is published.
On this day in 1859, the English naturalist laid the foundations for evolutionary biology when he published his instantly popular study, in which he introduced (or at least brought into mainstream) the theory of evolution by natural selection, a simple concept that would revolutionize the field. The term “natural selection” was Darwin’s own, and the findings in his book were the product of two decades of independent research and experimentation; however, Darwin was not the first to theorize a mechanism by which evolution might occur. In fact, Alfred Russel Wallace independently conceived a similar theory as a result of his own research, and he presented a paper on the subject in 1858 (although its importance was not apparent until Darwin’s book was published). Jean-Baptiste Lamarck was the first to suggest a fully-formed theory on the mechanics of evolution, but his (now mostly discredited) theories were never accepted by mainstream science.
On the Origin of Species targeted a wider audience and helped to achieve a consensus in the scientific community that evolution had, indeed, occurred (how exactly was still debatable). The first and second editions of the book sold out quickly, and four more editions were subsequently printed during Darwin’s life. The fifth, published in early 1869, was the first to use the phrase “survival of the fittest”. To avoid further controversy, Darwin had barely touched on the subject of human evolution in his book, and he waited until 1871 to publish his theories on the matter in The Descent of Man.
Reaction to Darwin’s publication was, naturally, mixed. Darwin had already established himself as a prominent and respected scientist, so there was no way his theories could simply be dismissed as junk science, but his book was criticized nonetheless. There was a sharp divide between religious figures and atheists in reaction to the book, for it (and its author) received much praise from the latter but criticism and outrage from the former. Robert Fitzroy, who had captained the HMS Beagle during Darwin’s voyage, was one critic; a religious man, he claimed that the book had given him “the acutest pain” and that he even felt guilty over his minimal part in helping Darwin form his theories. Despite initial controversy, Darwin’s book and the theories presented in it proved enduring and helped to overturn the seemingly unshakeable idea (once upheld by most of the world’s most prominent scientists) - that species and their destinies are fixed and immutable.